But, like a recurring nightmare, Title V came back. Again. This time through Health Care Reform. Failed abstinence-only programs have already sucked up $1.5 billion in federal funding. Despite study after study showing that they fail to delay sexual initiation, reduce the number of sexual partners, or prepare teens to use protection if and when they decide to become sexually active, under the new health care reform act, this zombie program now demands $250 million more over five years.

And what of the $250 million? The Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010 would re-program the money and use it for the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), the first ever state grant program that provides funding for more comprehensive sex education. PREP-funded programs must teach sex ed (covering both contraception and waiting to have sex — novel, I know), as well as at least three other “adulthood preparation” subjects. Options include: healthy relationships, adolescent development, financial literacy, educational and career success, and/or healthy life skills.

The ACLU urges Congress to pass the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010 and finally end these failed and stigmatizing abstinence-only programs once and for all.